Imagine that you are assigned a task, and to accomplish that task, you have a set of tools that don’t speak to each other. This may be the feeling that many purchasing managers are faced with today. With new technologies popping up week to week, purchasing managers are tasked with understanding them and figuring out how to fit them together to ultimately make a good experience for home buyers.
It’s tough to figure out the right combination of technology and how to make these purchases sustainable or future proof them so they are a good investment for builders. CEDIA, a member-based organization that leads the way for home technology education and research, is striving to help guide housing providers through this process.
Watch this video as Dave Pedigo, vice president, emerging technologies at CEDIA, talks about what’s on the horizon regarding technology in housing and how to make a valuable return on investment.
Pedigo says the two biggest developments in smart home technology are voice control and artificial intelligence. Voice control is an intermediary to artificial intelligence. And, in five short years, homes will be making a lot of informed decisions. Shortly after that on the future timeline, Pedigo predicts that we won’t have to interact with our home because it will be making decisions for us.
Because of these rapid advancements, Pedigo suggests that builders think long term. He also recommends that they hire a technology design consultant who can address the diversity of standards that are out there and help builders future proof their investment. Builders should be thinking about running conduit into strategic areas, while being aware of new and approaching standards so that it’s convenient to pull new technology into built areas.
In a recent blog post, CEDIA points out these top developments in 2016 that will have an impact on 2017:
• Voice User Interface (VUI) is now the Graphical User Interface (GUI). Or put another way, verbal commands are the new mouse.
• Artificial intelligence is quickly moving forward. Our “things” are learning how to react to us and how to better perform to our preferences.
• Security risk is a pressing concern. CEDIA hopes that more remote monitoring and troubleshooting options come online soon that will protect a home’s digital security.
• Smart technology is everywhere, even in big box retailers, so adding it to a home needs to be a properly thought out, quality investment.
• Augmented and virtual reality brought, and will continue to bring, a new spin to the home buying experience.
